University Events

Oregon State is pleased to have had Nicholas Kristof on campus to present in October 2014.

Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times was the keynote speaker at an event on Friday, Oct. 31, celebrating the success of The Campaign for OSU. A seasoned journalist and native of Yamhill, Oregon, Kristof has traveled the major roads and minor byways of China, India, South Asia and Africa, offering a compassionate glimpse into global health, poverty and gender in the developing world. He and his wife Sheryl Wudunn co-authored the best-selling “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide,” which inspired a four-hour PBS series of the same name. In their new book, “A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity,” they look around the world at people who are working to make it a better place, and show readers the numerous ways this work can be supported.

A seasoned journalist and native of Yamhill, Oregon, Kristof has traveled the major roads and minor byways of China, India, South Asia and Africa, offering a compassionate glimpse into global health, poverty and gender in the developing world.

He and his wife Sheryl Wudunn co-authored the best-selling “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide,” which inspired a four-hour PBS series of the same name. In their new book, “A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity,” they look around the world at people who are working to make it a better place, and show readers the numerous ways this work can be supported.

Kristof’s remarks concluded an hour-long multimedia showcase of the impact of The Campaign for OSU on students, Oregon and the world. Publicly launched in October 2007, the campaign has raised more than $1.096 billion to support university priorities. To date, more than 105,000 donors to the campaign have:

• Created more than 600 new scholarships and fellowship funds – a 30 percent increase – with gifts for student support exceeding $180 million;

• Contributed more than $100 million to help attract and retain leading professors and researchers, including funding for 77 of Oregon State’s 124 endowed faculty positions;

• Supported the construction or renovation of more than two dozen campus facilities, including Austin Hall in the College of Business, the Linus Pauling Science Center, new cultural centers, and the OSU Basketball Center. Bonding support from the state was critical to many of these projects.

"In his world travels, Nicholas Kristof has seen incredible examples of people who are transforming lives and creating opportunity,” said OSU President Edward J. Ray. “Though on a different level, that’s what’s happening at Oregon State University, with the help of our growing philanthropic community. We couldn’t be more pleased to welcome one of Oregon’s native sons to our campus to celebrate our progress over the last decade and look together to the future.

“The contribution this university makes to our state and to our world is extraordinary and this campaign has expanded future opportunities tremendously.”